Freescale's New Chip to Power Cheaper, Faster e-Readers

The e-Reader market has taken a turn, headed toward more expensive multi-purpose devices (e.g., Apple’s iPad, Amazon’s expected full-color multi-touch Kindle). This puts existing single-function e-Readers, which are priced relatively high, in some jeopardy. To keep the ‘pure’ e-Reader market alive and healthy, something cheaper and faster is going to be needed, and Freescale has obliged with a new chip, the i.MX508.

The i.MX508 strips all pretenses about function and focuses exclusively on e-reading. According to Freescale the i.MX508 “is the first system-on-chip (SoC) designed specifically for eReaders that incorporates a high performance 800MHz ARM Cortex™-A8 processor and an integrated E Ink® display controller, certified by E Ink to drive the newest and next generation Vizplex™ panels.”

Freescale says its new chip will decode a PDF file five-times faster than the ARM9 chip, and three times faster than the ARM11. Page turns are down to half a second. It supports low power DDR2 memory. And it is more energy efficient.

The i.MX508 also costs less then existing chips, about $30 less per unit. Ian King of Bloomberg.com figures this reduction in cost could lead to e-Readers in the $150 price range, perhaps by the end of this year.

Comment

Good, I don't want a multi function eReader. I want one that does exactly one thing: reads documents. I want it with an eInk display, not a standard LCD, and I want it INEXPENSIVE. Ideally, they need to hit the sub $100.00 point to really break out. I MIGHT consider $150, but thats pushing the outside boundary for what I am willing to spend on it.